Digital Prey
by Orca1-9904
Summary: A powerful Digimon takes Ruki hostage to force Renamon to comply with being hunted. Renamon must outwit the hunter and survive in order to save her tamer.
1. Chapter 1

Digital Prey

A Digimon Tamers Fanfic

**Chris Teet**

**12/14/2010**

Ruki Makino sighed as she looked out the window of the train car, looking at the relatively unremarkable landscape passing by. She and her mother and grandmother had come to Hokkaidō to visit Ruki's aunt Haruna who lived in the town of Ikeda. They had left Kushiro airport and were taking the express train that connected the two towns. The only thing that made the otherwise boring trip tolerable was the music from her MP3 player filtering through the headphones she wore, as well as the bulge of the digivice clipped to her belt, the latter being most reassuring to her due to the being it connected her to.

Unbeknownst to anyone besides Ruki, there had been another member of the group making this trip; a lithe, amber-furred bipedal vulpine who presently was sitting atop of the train as it snaked its way through the countryside. Normally she would be invisible to avoid being spotted by other humans, but the cover of the encroaching dusk afforded her all the concealment she required. She went by the name Renamon and was the partner and ever-vigilant protector of Ruki, her tamer. Wherever Ruki went Renamon went, no exceptions. Renamon and Ruki had met several months prior after Ruki had won a Digimon card game championship, earning her the title of 'Digimon Queen'. That evening, she had received her digivice and was approached by a group of Digimon, all wanting her to be their tamer. Overwhelmed, Ruki shouted that she wanted only one strong Digimon, at which time the other Digimon disappeared and Renamon materialized before her. The two originally had a troubled relationship, but over time came to realize how vital the other was to fulfilling the needs of their partnership.

As these memories played through Renamon's mind, she glanced down at one of the two purple sleeves covering each of her arms; a Taoist Yin-Yang symbol emblazoned near the cuff. The vixen smirked slightly at the ironic analogy of that marking to the relationship she shared with her tamer. While Ruki had an often fiery temper and was often quick to anger, Renamon was often quite the opposite; exhibiting a sense of almost unflappable calm even in the heat of an intense battle, yet when the two worked in unison they formed a virtually invincible whole. Because of this, the two had become inseparable and even when Ruki couldn't see Renamon, she always knew that she would be there for her in an instant should Ruki need her.

Eventually the train reached the Ikeda station, Renamon dissapearing from sight as the lights of the station threatened to reveal her. Once the train came to a stop and the doors parted, Ruki made her way off of the train, followed by her mother Rumiko Makino and her maternal grandmother Seiko Hata. Of the three, Ruki traveled the lightest; carrying a backpack and a small suitcase. Seiko carried a purse and a medium-size suitcase, whereas Rumiko, who made her living as a popular international clothing model, had the most luggage of all; three massive suitcases each packed to the limit, which the conductor was presently straining to wrestle out of the train.

Ruki sighed at the spectacle as she looked to her mother with an exacerbated expression on her face, "Really mom, did you have to pack so much stuff? We're only going to be here a few days."

"Nonsense honey, it's essential to be prepared for any possible fashion situation," laughed Rumiko, oblivious to the plight of the conductor behind her who appeared to be on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. When the trio exited the train station, they were greeted by a black-haired woman roughly the same age as Rumiko who was standing near a silver Isuzu Rodeo up until she spotted the group and came up to meet them.

"Rumiko-Chan, you made it!" the woman said as she excitedly hugged Rumiko.

Rumiko eagerly returned the embrace, just as happy to see the other woman as she spoke, "Of course Haruna, we wouldn't miss this for the world." The two then relinquished the hug and looked back to the other half of the group, Haruna's gaze coming to rest on the younger of the two.

"Oh, my goodness, is that Ruki? Last time I saw her she was just a baby!" exclaimed Haruna as she knelt in front of her ten year-old niece to bring herself to Ruki's eye level. "You look absolutely gorgeous; I can tell you've got your mother's looks."

Ruki blushed, unaccustomed to others complimenting her appearance, looking to the side as she gave a simple "Thanks" in reply.

Haruna then stood as she moved to greet the eldest member of the group, the two generations of Hata women sharing a warm embrace "It's so good to see you again, mother. I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, sweetheart. Thank you so much for inviting us. It's nice to take a break from the city every now and then." Seiko responded before relinquishing the hug.

Haruna then looked to the three as a whole before speaking again, "Well, let's get loaded up and get going. Good thing I've got a big enough vehicle to handle all this stuff!" she giggled, her last comment being directed at Rumiko's luggage.

Rumiko chuckled at the remark, sheepishly scratching the back of her head, "Well, you know me sis, I just adore my clothes." This elicited a round of laughter from all except Ruki, who merely sighed and shook her head.

The group finally reached Haruna's home, located on the northeast side of Ikeda. Upon arriving they were treated to dinner. During the meal, Rumiko and Seiko took the opportunity to catch up and reminisce with Haruna while Ruki mostly kept to herself. Since Haruna lived alone, accommodations weren't a problem as she had a couple of spare rooms handy. After dinner was over and everyone had retired to their beds, Ruki made her way into the back yard, leaning on the wall next to the door. Within moments, Renamon appeared sitting on the railing of the second-story balcony above her.

Renamon was the first to speak, "You seem troubled, is something wrong?"

"There's nothing to do here. I'm going to be bored out of my mind until we get back to Shinjuku." The young tamer grumbled.

Renamon listened silently to the girl's complaints, waiting until she finished before responding, "I find this place to be tranquil and serene; a refreshing change from the city on the mainland. I can see why your aunt enjoys it here. Give it a chance, Ruki. If nothing else, it will give us a chance to rest after all the battles we have fought recently."

The young tamer sighed, reluctantly knowing that her partner had a point; the two had been in numerous battles recently, including several against a particularly powerful group of Digimon calling themselves 'Devas'. Each one of them had been at perfect-level, the second-highest level of evolution a Digimon could achieve, and had proven to be fearsome opponents to defeat. Adding to this was the fact that there were supposedly twelve Devas but they had only battled five of them so far. "I guess you're right. Still gonna to be boring, though." With that, Ruki headed inside, closing the door behind her. After Ruki had gone to bed, Renamon decided to take advantage of the darkness to explore Ikeda and gain familiarity with the layout of the town surrounding Haruna's house. Back in Shinjuku, she would frequently roam the suburbs surrounding Ruki's home at night, both to ensure the area was secure and to become better acquainted with the area.

Meanwhile in the mountains northeast of Ikeda, a pale blue pillar of light shot up from the ground, a dense fog enveloping the surrounding area. When the fog dissipated, a tall, dark figure stood looking about at his surroundings. He then drew several small, flattened metal spheres from a pouch on his waist, tossing them into the sky as he spoke, "Searcher bots, recon mode, deploy." In response to the command, the spheres each sprouted twin sets of counter-rotating rotor blades that spun width-wise around the widest point. Each sphere then split off from the others and proceeded to systematically survey the surrounding area before returning to their owner, the rotor blades retracting back into each sphere before landing in his outstretched hand and being placed back in the pouch they had come from.

Once all the spheres had returned, their owner gave an approving nod to the information they had gleaned during their sweep. "This area will be sufficient for my purposes. All that is required now is the target."

The next day, Ruki had decided to go for a walk and see if there was anything of interest to alleviate the boredom she had lamented to Renamon about the night before. It was surprising how little vehicle and pedestrian traffic there was here compared to what she was used to back in Shinjuku where the sidewalks were choked with people during the day and the streets almost constantly packed with traffic seemingly at all hours. The relative lack of noise was in and of itself almost deafening in its own way.

As Ruki trudged down the almost-vacant street she knew she wasn't alone as Renamon followed her, leaping gracefully from one rooftop to the next, flashing in and out of view periodically as she did so. Renamon didn't expect there to be any trouble while they were here but she knew better than to let down her guard, a harsh lesson learned through bitter experience.

No sooner had Renamon thought this when a shimmering distortion appeared ahead of the human girl she had been following, her blue-irised black eyes going wide as she called out her tamer's name to warn her. Ruki heard her and looked up, startled by the sight and stopping short, a look of apprehension on her face as she took several steps back away from the anomaly. Renamon was sprinting hard to get to her tamer and protect her from any possible threat the disturbance might pose, but before she could reach her a net erupted out of the void, Ruki letting out a scream as it enfolded her and drew her into the distortion.

"Ruki! No!" Renamon's blood ran cold as her tamer disappeared, the vixen landing where she had stood a mere second before. Acting on instinct and without the slightest hesitation, the amber Digimon leapt into the distortion after her, steeling herself to do whatever was required to secure Ruki's safety, at any cost. When she emerged from the distortion she was no longer in Ikeda, but in a mountainous, forested area several miles outside of town. Renamon didn't have time to take in the scenery as a masculine voice immediately refocused her attention.

"Good of you to make it. You are Renamon, correct?" Before Renamon stood an imposing figure; a humanoid Digimon standing roughly seven feet tall with a dark muscular body. He was dressed in what appeared to be a brown uniform with a thick belt around his waist holding several pouches, a crimson cape clasped around the collar and large black boots extending to his knees on his feet. On his head was perched a brown pith helmet reminiscent of that worn by big game hunters of the past. On his left hip hung a thick leather scabbard housing a large machete blade and on his back was slung a massive gun. What Renamon's attention was focused on however was the net he held in his left hand, a terrified Ruki imprisoned within.

"Release her now and you _might_ get out of here alive." Renamon's words were spoken in a cold, dangerous tone that hinted at the underlying fury she harbored towards the one who had dared to abduct her partner.

The Digimon merely smirked at her words before replying, "I cannot do that. For you see, this human is my insurance that you will comply with what I want."

"And what would that be?" asked Renamon, already knowing she wasn't going to like where this was heading.

"I wish to hunt you."

Renamon gave a fierce scowl as the Digimon continued, "I have hunted Digimon of all kinds all over the digital world and have been thoroughly disappointed every time by the lack of challenge they presented me. Then I heard stories of a Digimon who had traveled to the real world and become the partner of the legendary Digimon Queen. I came here in the hopes that you would finally give me a challenge worthy of my skills."

Renamon could feel the fur on the back of her neck bristling as listened to his monologue. She then growled as she lunged at him to attack. Before she could strike him however, he had unsheathed his machete and driven the butt of the handle into her midsection, knocking the wind out of her and doubling her over. He then swung one of his booted feet up and caught her in the torso, sending her flying back several feet before she landed on her back on the ground.

"I strongly suggest you do not try that again. If you refuse to cooperate, this human's life is forfeit!" the Digimon said in a stern tone, giving the net imprisoning Ruki a brief shake to emphasize his threat.

Renamon got back to her feet, her fangs bared as she growled, "If you harm her, I will make you pay dearly!"

"Then you had best comply if you want her to make it out of this alive!" The Digimon then lowered his tone to a normal speaking voice before continuing, "I will give you a five-minute head start, after which I will come for you. The hunt ends when you make it back to the human town or I delete you and load your data. Once I am satisfied that the conditions of the hunt have been met, I will release the human as I will have no further use for her. However, if you try to rescue her yourself or seek assistance from anyone, I will kill the both of you immediately. Your time starts now; I suggest you make good use of it."

Renamon sneered viciously at the other Digimon. She knew what she had to do, but the mere thought of it was unbearable and almost incomprehensible to her. She then looked to her imprisoned tamer, her eyes locking with the young girl's violet gaze. "We _will_ get through this alive, Ruki, I promise you." She then suddenly darted off, disappearing into the forest.

Once Renamon had left, the Digimon walked over to a nearby tree, using a rope attached to the net to hang it from the branch of a tree, leaving Ruki hanging at least ten feet off the ground. Once that was done, he unslung the massive gun from his back, pulling back a handle on the side and releasing it, producing a loud metallic clacking sound. He then turned and looked in the direction he had last seen Renamon heading as he spoke, "And so begins Stalkermon's hunt."

End Chapter 1

A/N: How was that to start things off? I got the idea for the plot for this story from the Richard Connell short story _'The Most Dangerous Game'_. In the original story, a big-game hunter who has grown tired of hunting animals turns to hunting humans on his private island, including the protagonist. I decided it would be interesting to try an adaptation of this set in the world of the _Digimon Tamers _anime. Renamon seemed like the perfect choice for a protagonist because she's one of the strongest and most cunning of the original three partnered Digimon. I also decided to use the Japanese names for the characters, since the original Japanese version is, in my opinion, far superior to the English-dubbed version. Anyhow, I hope everyone enjoys reading this, please read & review and happy holidays!


	2. Chapter 2

Digital Prey

A Digimon Tamers Fanfic

**Chris Teet**

**12/22/2010**

Renamon leapt from branch to branch, moving rapidly through the forest canopy, the amber fox Digimon moving with uncanny swiftness and precision. After a few minutes she finally stopped, landing on a large branch high up in a massive pine. She knelt on the branch, breathing hard for several moments before yelling out in rage and striking the trunk of the tree with her fist, leaving a sizeable gouge in the hard wood.

"Damn him, damn that bastard!" growled Renamon under her breath. The one she spoke of with such contempt was none other than Stalkermon; a powerful hunter Digimon who had taken her tamer Ruki as a hostage to force her to agree to be hunted by him under the threat of taking Ruki's life if she refused to comply. When Renamon learned of his intentions she had attempted to strike him down, but was knocked to the ground as if she had been a bothersome fly he'd swatted away. Now Renamon was on the run, with Stalkermon somewhere behind her pursuing her. Renamon felt a deep shame; her tamer, the person she had sworn her life to protect, was in danger and she had been forced to flee. Never had she felt so powerless, not even when she had been nearly killed by Dokugumon when the spider Digimon had attacked the two or when IceDevimon had abducted Ruki and tried to force her to become his tamer. Even in those dire circumstances, Renamon had never been forced to leave the fight.

As if the situation wasn't bad enough, she was alone on an unfamiliar island with no one she could rely on to aid her. The other tamers and their Digimon were back in Shinjuku on the mainland, much too far away to be able to back her up even if they had been aware of the situation. Even if Stalkermon hadn't dictated that she was forbidden to seek aid from others, there was no one on the entire island of Hokkaidō who could be of any help to her other than the hostage being used as leverage against her.

"This could not have happened at a worse time. Not only am I at a grave disadvantage, but I can sense that he is powerful; definitely adult-level if not perfect-level. Attacking him head-on would be suicide; I must try to outwit him and hope that I can find some sort of advantage I can use against him." Renamon sighed, truly fearful that she might actually fail. She had faced hardships and adversity before in the digital world, but now that she had a human partner depending on her it was completely different and the thought of any harm befalling Ruki because she wasn't strong enough to prevent it almost made Renamon physically ill. Despite this, Renamon knew there was nothing she could have done differently that would not have endangered Ruki. Stalkermon held the advantage at the moment, and Renamon knew she had no other choice but to go along with his sadistic game. She also knew that sitting around doing nothing would bring her nothing except death, so she stood up, resolving to do everything in her power to defeat this latest threat.

Mere seconds later, an explosion shattered the point of the branch she stood on where it joined to the trunk of the tree, sending splinters flying like shrapnel from a grenade. Renamon reflexively brought her arms up to shield her face, shimmering out of sight as she teleported to an intact branch nearby, which in turn suffered the same fate. Renamon was ready this time, teleporting several more times with each place she alighted being blasted in turn. She then leapt up into the air with her arms crossed in front of her, a cloud of crystalline shards appearing before her as she shouted, "Koyousetsu!" With that she swung her arms apart, sending the shards raining down en-masse on a section of undergrowth on the ground below which exploded on impact from the barrage.

When the dust cleared, Stalkermon was revealed standing mostly unharmed despite having taken the full brunt of Renamon's most powerful attack. He rested his gun on his shoulder, smirking up at the vixen standing on another tree branch above him. "I must say I am impressed; very few Digimon have managed to evade my Sniper Shot attack, much less several times in a row. You may well prove to be worthy prey yet."

"Shut up! I do not care about your damned hunt; I am only doing this for the sake of my tamer. So far as I am concerned, you are nothing but a disgusting coward. However, there is one thing I must know; are you one of the Devas?"

Stalkermon shook his head as he replied, "No, I am not a Deva, but I have heard of them. They tried to recruit me; claiming that they were on a mission to eliminate the control of humans over the digital world, but I do not care about humans one way or another. I simply wish to test my hunting prowess against the strongest Digimon I can find."

Renamon listened as he spoke, thankful that she was not alone against a Deva. She then narrowed her eyes as she saw him remove his gun from the shoulder he'd been resting on, taking it in both hands and placing the stock up against his right shoulder.

"We have bantered long enough. It is time for the hunt to continue. Hunter Barrage!" Just as he said that, a spray of shots erupted from the muzzle of his gun. The lithe Digimon leapt to avoid the volley, flipping 360 degrees in mid air before landing on the ground in front of him. Stalkermon drew his machete and made a horizontal slash at her which she barely managed to duck under. She then grabbed a handful of dirt off the ground and flung it up at her opponent's face, eliciting a loud shout as it got in his eyes and blinded him. Renamon took the opportunity to break contact and headed away from him into the forest, hearing Stalkermon's infuriated yelling growing fainter behind her. She normally would not resort to such tactics, but as the humans would say, desperate times called for desperate measures, and it didn't get much more desperate than this.

Ruki Makino shifted within the confines of the net that served as her prison, the young human girl trying to ward off the pins and needles sensation of being in an unnatural position for a prolonged period of time. It had been maybe half an hour or so since this whole ordeal began, but it felt like she had been here forever. She grimaced, feeling part of the net pressing her digivice into her hip. She scoffed to herself, "Some tamer I am. Renamon's out there fighting for her life and I'm trapped in this stupid net! Even if I could get out of here, there's no telling where Renamon is. I don't even know where _I_ am, for that matter!"

Ruki sighed, remembering the times she had been separated from Renamon in the past, including the time when the two had parted ways following the incident with IceDevimon. True the two resolved the issue and had never been stronger, but it had nearly come at too high a price as Renamon was almost killed when she attempted to face Harpymon alone. Ruki arrived on the scene but was without her digivice, having to resort to attacking the Digimon herself; stabbing the half bird, half humanoid Digimon in the back as she attempted to crush Renamon under her talons. It was this selfless act on Ruki's part, placing herself in danger to save her partner, that acted as the catalyst which finally allowed the two to see each other as indispensible equals and their bond had never been stronger since. This time however, things were far different. Ruki was a hostage, being used to force her partner to take part in a hunt for the amusement of her captor. If Renamon felt powerless, Ruki felt utterly useless; at least Renamon was free and could do something about the situation, whereas Ruki could barely even move.

She then remembered the last time she had seen her partner, recalling the promise she had made to her before disappearing into the forest. She knew Renamon would do everything in her power to keep her word, but they had no idea what they were dealing with; Ruki hadn't been able to use her digivice so she couldn't scan Stalkermon to gain any information that could prove useful. She only knew his name because he happened to mention it as he was preparing to leave. Ruki shifted her weight again, grumbling angrily under her breath. All she could do was put her trust in Renamon and pray that she would be able to survive long enough to rescue her.

Elsewhere, Renamon had her hands full dealing with her and Ruki's antagonist. Stalkermon had deployed his Searcher bots to reacquire Renamon after she had managed to elude him earlier, the robotic flying probes whizzing through the forest canopy in pursuit of their quarry. Even the agile and fleet-footed Renamon was finding it difficult to keep ahead of the airborne robots, not wanting to engage them unless she had no other option since she didn't know what kind of combat abilities they might possess. That option was taken from her seconds later however when the Searcher bots overtook her, the vulpine Digimon stopping short as the flattened spheres surrounded her on all sides.

Renamon panted heavily as she watched the spheres, standing in a combat pose as she watched the hovering orbs. After a few seconds of apparent stalemate, she jumped up to try to escape from the cordon; her eyes going wide as she saw one of the Searcher bots launch itself straight at her. Reacting instinctively, she kicked off the trunk of a tree behind her to change her direction, performing a somersault in mid-air and bringing her clasped fists down on the top of the robot as it passed beneath her. The impact sent the probe crashing to Earth with no chance to recover, slamming into the ground and exploding on impact behind Renamon who landed in a crouch before dashing off into a fast sprint.

She looked back behind herself as the other Searcher bots gave chase again, "If they have to attack me directly, they may not be armed, so I might have an advantage. I should be careful of those spinning blades though; Stalkermon may have had them sharpened." Now that Renamon had a plan of action, she wasted no time putting it into motion. She began to lead the Searcher bots on a more complex, winding course through the forest, throwing up as many obstacles in their path as possible. Despite their impressive maneuverability, the Searcher bots weren't infallible; one of them clipping the trunk of a tree and careening out of control, smashing into a second Searcher bot with both of them exploding on impact with the other. With half the Searcher bots now destroyed, Renamon abruptly skidded to a stop and leapt straight up, the remaining probes overshooting her and flying straight into her line of fire. "Koyousetsu!" shouted Renamon, unleashing another barrage of crystalline shards at her opponents, two of them being caught and decimated in the attack as the last one pulled up sharply and barely evaded the same fate. Renamon then landed on the ground, squaring up against the remaining robotic assailant.

She narrowed her eyes as she watched the remaining probe, waiting to see what it would do. It then suddenly darted away from her, leaving her confused. Her eyes then went wide as she realized why the probe would go away from her, and leapt straight up into the air, a boulder the size of a small car that had been in front of her shattering into countless pieces with a thunderous boom as Stalkermon's Sniper Shot attack slammed into it instead of her. The instant Renamon's feet touched the ground she was in motion; trying to put as much cover and distance between her and the source of the attack as possible, hearing more explosions behind her as the hunter continued to fire on his fleeing prey. Renamon looked forward and gasped in surprise, skidding to a stop only a few feet from the edge of a cliff.

"What will you do now, Renamon? You have nowhere left to run. You have proven yourself to be a formidable challenge, but I am afraid the chase has come to an end." Renamon spun around to face Stalkermon as he spoke, a fierce scowl on her face.

"You should know that a cornered animal is the most dangerous." Replied Renamon, her fangs bared as she watched her adversary, her mind racing as she tried to think of a way out of this situation.

Stalkermon nodded to her words, keeping the butt of his gun to his shoulder although with the muzzle at a downward angle as he replied, "That is true, but in light of the challenge you gave me during the hunt, I will allow you to make a final statement before I delete you."

Renamon narrowed her gaze as she heard his response, "I would never beg for my life, if that is what you are expecting. However, I do ask that you honor your word and spare Ruki-Sama's life."

Stalkermon nodded to her words, "You gave me a challenging hunt and abided by the rules, so you have my word that the human girl will be released unharmed," he then tightened his grip on his gun and raised it, looking through the scope at the amber vixen before him, "Now, let us finish this."

End chapter 2

A/N: How's that for an ending? Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I must say that this story is going by relatively quickly for me. I tried to add an adequate amount of introspection, exposition, and action in this chapter, and hope that it addresses some of the issues raised by the readers of chapter one. Please read and review, and happy holidays!


	3. Chapter 3

Digital Prey

A Digimon Tamers Fanfic

**Chris Teet**

**1/4/2011**

Renamon gritted her teeth, facing one of the direst situations of her life. The vulpine-esque Digimon was trapped on the edge of a cliff by Stalkermon; a powerful Digimon who had taken her tamer hostage to force her to agree to cooperate with being hunted. Renamon had proven herself a challenging target despite Stalkermon being superior in overall power, but her luck had run out as the terrain had conspired against her to leave her cornered against her pursuer, who now appeared ready to take her life.

"I must thank you, Renamon; you have finally provided me with a satisfying hunt. I almost regret having to bring it to an end now." Stalkermon said, raising the barrel of his weapon and looking through the scope at her and slowly squeezing the trigger.

However, mere milliseconds before the coup de grâce could be delivered, the targeted Digimon abruptly leapt straight up and executed a full 360-degree back flip "If my life is to end, it will be on my own terms, not at the hands of a sadistic pig like you!"

To say that Stalkermon was surprised was an understatement; he watched in disbelief as the Sniper Shot blast intended to terminate his quarry sailed through empty space, watching as his target executed the graceful acrobatic maneuver which sent her over the edge of the cliff. He rushed to the edge just in time to see her disappear into a layer of fog below. He then silently withdrew his last Searcher bot probe and launched it, the small robot descending into the obscuring mist and returning a few moments later. A somber expression overcame his face as he looked into the fog, "She truly had an incredible spirit; even in the face of inevitable demise, she would rather sacrifice herself rather than allow herself to face defeat. Never before have I encountered such a Digimon, and I fear I never will again… sayōnara, Renamon."

A short time later, Stalkermon returned to the clearing where Renamon's tamer Ruki Makino had been imprisoned since this whole ordeal began. She looked up as she sensed someone approaching, letting out a fearful gasp as she saw the malevolent Digimon's figure emerge from the forest.

"Wh-where's Renamon? What'd you do to her?" demanded the young girl, her mind filling with dread.

Stalkermon stopped several feet from where Ruki hung, suspended from a tree branch by the net that had been used to abduct her and had subsequently been her prison. "She has been destroyed, although not by my hand. She leapt from the edge of a cliff before I could finish her."

"Damn you! You're lying!" shouted Ruki, her dread growing to terror and heartache at the prospect of losing her partner.

Stalkermon shook his head and was opening his mouth to speak when he was cut off by a strong, feminine voice from above, "He is only half right."

Both hunter and hostage shot their gaze skyward, looks of shocked surprise on their faces as they uttered the name of the being they now beheld, "Renamon!"

"But how? I saw you leap off the cliff, there is no way you should have survived the fall!"

Renamon looked down on the two from a branch of a neighboring tree as she spoke, "I did not expect that I would, but there was a ledge hidden by the fog that I landed on."

"But my Searcher bot did not detect you." Stalkermon responded, still trying to make sense of this strange turn of events.

Renamon crossed her arms as she regarded at her dumbfounded opponent, "Because I had teleported out of the area before your probe got there."

Stalkermon gave a brief laugh, shaking his head as he grinned maliciously up at her, "You truly are full of surprises; quite a clever fox indeed. Now the hunt can continue!" With that last remark, he withdrew his remaining Searcher bot probe and launched it at Renamon like a robotic shuriken.

Renamon narrowed her gaze in a fierce scowl, raising a fist which became enveloped in a pale blue flame, "I think not!" she then swung her fist outward, striking the incoming Searcher bot with a powerful backhanded blow which sent it flying away, the razor-sharp rotor blades slicing through the rope that connected Ruki's net to the branch before the probe slammed into and embedded itself in the trunk, destroyed.

Ruki grunted and grimaced as she hit the ground, her former prison coming undone as it was no longer held closed. The human girl quickly got to her feet as her partner alighted on the ground next to her, ready to defend her liberated tamer.

"So, he wants to see how strong you can be? I say we show him your true power!" said Ruki, unclasping her digivice from her belt and drawing a card from the leather pouch on her opposite hip.

"Agreed!" nodded Renamon, not even having to see the girl sliding the card through the slot on the side of the device to know what was about to happen next.

As sparks spewed from her digivice from the power possessed by the card being slid through the reader slot, the girl shouted out a familiar and well-practiced command, "Card slash… Matrix Evolution!"

"Renamon evolve…" shouted Renamon, her voice echoing as a blinding flash of light enveloped her. When it dissipated moments later, the familiar figure of Renamon was replaced by her perfect-level form; a twirling, taller figure clad in robes and a tall hat reminiscent of a Shinto priest, though her face and exposed feet were still similar to that of her previous form. The being dropped into a crouch as she ceased twirling, then stood and spread her arms out before lowering them to her sides as she spoke her new name with a tone of authority, "Taomon!"

Stalkermon growled, looking on at the two before him, "Damn you, I told you what would happen if you broke the rules, now you will pay the price!" he then drew his gun, leveling it at the easiest target available; Ruki. "Hunter Barrage!"

Just as Stalkermon opened fire, a transparent shield formed around the young human, the volley of shots striking it and dissipating harmlessly. The hunter then looked up at Taomon just as she raised the sleeves of her robe to aim at him a flurry of small red paper talismans erupting forth as she returned fire, "Kofuusatsu!"

The talismans exploded on impact with Stalkermon's weapon, destroying it as Taomon landed on the ground before him. The frustrated hunter then unsheathed his machete and charged his quarry, yelling as he closed on her, "I will delete you, if it is the last thing I do!" he then slashed repeatedly at Taomon, though his attacks proved futile as she almost effortlessly parried and deflected them with her sleeve-enshrouded hands. After doing this several times, she suddenly grabbed his arm and pivoted in place, pitching forward and throwing Stalkermon bodily over her shoulder, who then impacted the ground with tremendous force; easily enough to shatter bones in a human body.

Taomon then leapt up into the air, looking down at the prone form of her antagonist with a cold, quiet rage which echoed in her voice as she spoke, "This madness has gone on long enough. For your unforgivable transgressions, I condemn you to the deepest depths of hell." She then produced an enormous calligraphy brush as long as she was tall from one sleeve of her robe, drawing the Sanskrit symbol for 'truth' in midair as she shouted an incantation, "Bonhitsusen!" The symbol then glowed brightly, projecting a beam of light which then struck Stalkermon. He then screamed as his body was dissolved into red bits of data which flickered away into oblivion like embers from a fire.

Taomon gently alighted on the ground near where Stalkermon had lain; a shallow impression in the ground from the force of his impact marking his final resting place. She then looked down at the sole remaining physical trace of his existence; his pith helmet which had been knocked off his head when Taomon had thrown him. She then sneered at it with disgust, slamming her large foot down on it and crushing it into oblivion with its owner. She then looked to Ruki, the young girl running up to her and throwing her arms around her partner who in turn gently reciprocated the gesture, the two sharing a wordless embrace as they were once more reunited, neither one needing to speak a word to understand perfectly what the other was thinking and feeling.

After a few moments, the two relinquished the embrace, Ruki smiling up to Taomon as she spoke, "Let's go home."

Taomon nodded silently, all too willing to grant her tamer's request. The two were then surrounded in a transparent hemisphere with a Yin-Yang symbol for a floor which then levitated into the air before whisking them away.

The following days in Ikeda passed without incident. Neither Ruki's mother nor her grandmother had the slightest idea of the experience she had gone through, though they did notice a change in her behavior as she became more sociable and actually seemed to enjoy herself for the rest of the visit with Ruki's aunt Haruna. As Ruki and her family rode the train back to Kushiro airport to return to Shinjuku, the young girl gave a small smile as she gazed out the window, knowing that Renamon, her iron-willed partner and guardian was with her and that together, the two could overcome any kind of adversity they would ever face.

End Chapter 3

A/N: And thus concludes _Digital Prey_. I certainly hope everyone enjoyed reading this story. I know I had some readers worried with the ending of chapter two, but come on, what's a good trilogy without a cliffhanger, right? This was my first attempt at a Digimon fan fiction, and I don't think I did too badly if I may say so. I envisioned this story taking place between episodes 18 and 22 of the series; When Renamon had gained the ability to evolve to Taomon and before the abduction of Culumon which led to the protagonists going to the digital world to rescue him. I also based the location the story was set in on real-world places; since the parts of the anime set in the real world were based on the (mostly) real Shinjuku, I tried to replicate the real Ikeda, Hokkaidō and surrounding areas as best as I could without going there in person (Google Earth, Wikipedia, and YouTube proved invaluable in this endeavor). Again, I hope everyone enjoyed reading this story, please read & review and let me know what you thought of the story!

Credits:

_Digimon Tamers_ and all associated characters © Toei Animation, Bandai Entertainment

Story, Stalkermon, Haruna Hata © Chris Teet


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